A Tale of Two Faces

While observers continue to wrestle about who the next Liberal leader will be, perhaps a better question would be: from where will the next batch of MP candidates emerge? Sure, some of the defeated representatives will try again, but something about this past election speaks of the need for generational change within the party itself. Though probably wise to put off a leadership competition for some point in the future, it is never too early to ask what that next generation of office seekers will look like?In yesterday's London Free Press, a front page article titled "An Unpolitical Farewell" ruminated on my almost five years in politics and any future plans I may have. It spoke of my discomfort at the heavy partisanship of the House of Commons and the reality that I felt a quiet sense of freedom at my defeat. It was just the kind of article some Liberals didn't want to read. It tells of a more useful kind of political outlook that seeks commonality with other parties on issues of shared importance and how such practice is occasionally best exemplified in speaking against the fatal tendencies within the leadership of one's own party as opposed to being friendly with those across the aisle. There were times when I spoke up against some of the negative practices of the Liberal party, the most recent being the heavy pressure placed upon Michael Ignatieff to "go mean" in the release of campaign ads during the most recent election. I watched repeatedly as Michael attempted to get his caucus members to refrain from heckling during QP, only to be told that mean is the new normal and that he would have to fight negativity with a more brutal kind. After fighting for years for a more respectful kind of politics, my seat mates could hardly have expected me to be quiet under such leanings. The fact Mr. Ignatieff kept me in his shadow cabinet despite my expressed displeasure said, to me at least, more about his genuine search for responsible leadership than anything else.This more cooperative part in my nature didn't just come from my upbringing but from a lengthy period of community involvement that found reaching across differences to be a fundamental solution to many of our city's problems. The reality is that many of the best leaders of tomorrow - men and women - are in the process of cutting their teeth in a kind of collaborative politics that represents some of the finest traditions of the historic Liberal party, as perhaps best exemplified during Lester Pearson's tenure. Coincidentally, it is a kind of political way of being that appears to attract more females than what we presently witness in Ottawa.An observation from Illinois politician Maureen Murphy actually has a larger aspect than just the plight of women in politics: "The reason there are so few female politicians is that it is too much trouble to put makeup on two faces."She's right. Federal politicians in Canada are asked to put on one human face for citizens and a party face for Ottawa. This works as long as parties find reasonable accommodations in the course of their business, but not if blind partisanship rules the decision-making process. It is this duality, this wearing of two masks, that is increasingly disillusioning citizens and resulting in a growing frustration at the lack of authenticity in Canadian politics.Ottawa often requires makeup; local communities frequently display an open countenance. There is a difference and the Liberal party will have to comprehend this distinction and opt for the latter if it is to have a future. All this talk among Liberals about returning to the grassroots will only be authenticated if they select, through local riding associations, candidates from these respective communities that have displayed a firm and historical commitment to their roots.There will be hundreds, perhaps thousands, of men and women just like me who will shy away from the politics of division as presently practiced in the nation's capital. To be effective, the Liberal party will have to cull its future membership and candidates from this group of engaged citizens - no faces, no makeup, no masks.